Why are you involved in the housing industry? What is it that brought you to the point of view that that was an important part of your life? I ask this owing to my passionate belief that if you are involved with providing housing to others, as I am, that there can be no more important pursuit.
I believe that we share common ground, and hope that we can pursue something that is even more valuable than what we may be pursuing at present.
So why are you involved in housing? Are you involved in housing because it is a job? That is a legitimate and important reason, that may be among the highest callings.
Are you involved in housing because it is a great way to make a lot of money? After all, everybody knows you can make a lot of money in real estate. Obviously, that is a legitimate and lucrative reason.
Are you involved in housing because it is fundamental to the needs of humanity? Yes, that is a fundamental reason, but too few identify this as their motivation. This, however, is the motivation that warrants us to spend more time pursuing an ethic about housing.
Indeed, if we embrace this highly fundamental reason for being involved in housing, it will validate any of the other reasons we choose to be involved. We must come to terms and recognize how important housing is to the human endeavor. When we do that we will come to really accept the importance of our responsibility to one another through the delivery of housing. As a result, we will pursue it with a lot different intensities.
There is a substantial amount of evidence about the importance of how housing is delivered. I am going to be sharing with you the insights of a psychologist, called Maslow, in the future. For now it is important to recognize that fundamental to his observations is that we as human beings depend on housing, or the sense of security furnished through housing, to pursue our potential.
Housing provides the value of delivering and receiving a quality of life in order to build the foundation we need to truly self-actualize our lives. All of us recognize that the real thing that motivates you is that you hope to be fully self-actualized. You hope to be something greater than what you are. You have an ambition in life, a calling in life, that is driving you to something greater. I encourage you to embrace that truth with awareness and enthusiasm.
In order to illustrate this truth, let me share a story with you. I currently am living in an apartment. I liquidated a home I shared with my Beloved Bride in order to move into this apartment because she was suffering with a terminal illness. We needed to place her in a safer place, an environment where I could meet her needs more effectively. I became her caregiver, and I chose to do that in this apartment. I was not mistaken.
It was much easier to support her where there was less room. It was easier for me to care for her, until it got to a point where her illness could no longer be managed by me alone.
The tragedy of this story is to illustrate why delivering ethical housing should be about more than providing four walls, the ceiling, and the floor that the occupant happens to share with whatever number of other people that live around them. It is far more than that. It is the sincere intent to address a human fundamental need. I believe that there is a human need to experience more from housing than just be given a safe roof over our heads. We need to be invited into relationships through housing.
When I was confronted by the burden of my Beloved Bride’s illness, I decided to move into an apartment in the hopes that I would be surrounded by a compassionate community to help me shoulder her burden. When the time came when the reality that my wife’s life was coming to an end, I was by her side. That happened to take place at the beginning of a month. Of course, if you are in the multi-family space we know that at the beginning of every month it is our duty to pay our rent in order to enjoy the value of living in that multi-family space.
The management company that manages the apartment that I was occupying while caring for my Bride is one of the largest in the world. They made the decision at that particular time, a little over a year ago, that they would remove the drop box outside of their offices. So I could not drop off a check for my rent.
I was committed to being at my wife’s side in the nurs
ing home that was caring for her then. I was there from before sunrise till well after sunset every day for several days. Aware that it was the beginning of the month and it was time for me to pay my rent, I called the office and explained my circumstances. I advised why I could not get to a computer to pay the rent online. I reminded them why I could not drop off a check at the office outside of office hours. I asked that I be forgiven for not being able to get them the rent in a timely fashion this month, and described why. In response they expressed compassion.
During the course of the next few days my Bride passed away. It was then, and remains to this day one of the most miserable things that has happened to me in my life.
When I was able to deliver my rent payment a few days later I was advised that my rent obligation was increased by a $85 charge, for paying my rent late. Therefore, in spite of the fact that I reported the reason in a timely manner. In spite of the fact that I made every effort to explain my reasonable circumstances. In spite of the fact that I provided timely notice why my intent was to pay it on time, but my circumstances would prevent paying it on time. The large management company felt obligated to charge me the $85, because that is the rule if anyone is late for any reason.
So, is housing about the rules, or is it about the people served? This compels us to ask why we are involved in housing? Why are you involved in housing? Is your motivation to be involved in housing to permit yourself to make a lot of money, and avoid focusing on the humanity of the people you are serving? Is your involvement to focus on the people that you have the good fortune of serving, AND, consequently, causing you to make money?
I am hoping that over the course of time that we spend together I can demonstrate a way for you to embrace the wonderful power of AND. We can make a lot of money in housing if that’s what motivates you AND we can make the world a better place.
My objective in these communications with you is for you and I to begin this dialogue. For you to embrace this opportunity to talk with me, to relate to me, to share with me what your motivations are, and allow me to open up our hearts and our minds to a more effective way to lead through housing. Please follow me on my various social media sites. Most importantly, please go to my Website, HowardPrimer.com, and provide me some feedback about how I might serve you better. It is my sincere desire that collectively we may serve others better. If we do that we will answer the question why are you involved in housing. Thank you for your passion.